LaToya Thomas returned to her beloved Mississippi State University campus Saturday to accept a framed uniform and the congratulations of the 45,835 fans that attended the MSU-LSU football game. Prior to the game, Thomas, the first native Mississippian ever chosen as the first pick in the first round of a professional draft, spent a few minutes visiting with the media.

“It feels just great to be back,” Thomas said. “What more can I ask? I got a chance to walk around campus and see the smiles on everyone. I love this place. Right now I’m all right but I imagine that when I go on the field later and face all the fans, it will be very emotional.”

After concluding a record setting four-year career at Mississippi State where she led the Southeastern Conference in scoring all four years – the first person ever to do that, the Cleveland Rockers took her as the first pick in the WNBA draft. She played in 32 games earning 25 starts and averaging 10.8 points a game, 5.1 rebounds per game in 26.7 average minutes a game.

“It’s everything I expected,” Thomas said. “Next year I won’t have to get my mind right. I think I made some progress this year, so it really felt great. I learned the importance of eating right to staying healthy especially with all the traveling that we do.”

There was no one game that really stood out in her mind for her rookie season. “They were all tough,” Thomas said. “By the end of the season, I really got tired of the traveling. We’d get off the plane and play then get back on the plane and travel again. It got hectic. The atmosphere playing in the WNBA is very different than at the Hump.”

Now the 6-foot 2-inch, 170-pounder has a few months to rest. She finished her college career in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 24th and played her first professional game on May 13th. The Rockers ended their season on September 2nd.

“I’ve got a few months to work out but I need some time off,” Thomas said. “I really have not decided on where I’m going to live during the off-season but I’ve been thinking about moving to the Atlanta area.”

Last week the Rockers lost their WNBA franchise, leaving Thomas without a team. There is talk of the franchise relocating to Nashville or another city. If the franchise cannot find a new home, players like Thomas could become a free agent.

“This just came up last week so I really don’t know much,” Thomas admitted. “It’s not an uneasy thing. Whatever is going to happen will happen. I think that some good is going to happen to the Cleveland team. We made the play-offs, and I liked Cleveland. But if we stay patient, everything will be alright.”

Thomas needed just more college game to reach the 3,000 career point plateau. She finished her career with 2,981 points. She played 125 college games and scored in double digits in each of those contests. In addition she had 1,108 rebounds. She is just the sixth player in the history of NCAA women’s basketball to earn a spot on the Kodak All-American team, the pinnacle of success, in each of her four years. What can this type of player learn by playing professionally?

“I have to work on everything,” Thomas said. “The big thing is keeping myself healthy. We play a lot of games. It’s a lot more difficult than in college. The WBNA is three times as competitive as the SEC.”

Thomas is a story of the American dream. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, she not only excelled on the basketball court achieving so many records and earning so much recognition that a special media release of her milestones is four pages long. Her proudest achievement came at Humphrey Coliseum but not playing basketball but rather walking across the commencement platform and accepting her bachelor’s degree in educational psychology.

“I came from a small town. A lot of people did not expect me to do well. A lot of people in Cleveland knew about me but didn’t realize the talent that people in Mississippi have. I’m glad to represent our State and our University.”